


Death is the Beginning

by ObsidiackLeowoethz



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Author Is Sleep Deprived, BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Character Death, Cognitive Dissonance, Cool, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emptiness, F/M, Fate characters are Uzumaki clan members, Gen, Good Uchiha Itachi, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Insanity, Itachi didn't leave the village, Multiple Personalities, Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Naruto has two personalities, Naruto is like Ryougi Shiki, Not Beta Read, Obito simply killed anyone, One personality is Canon Naruto, Other personality behaves like Menma but is known as Naru, Smart Uzumaki Naruto, Some Fate characters will appear maybe, Some Uchiha survived, Strong Female Characters, The Void, Two Minds One Body, Two branches of Uzumaki clans, Uchiha Massacre, Uzumaki Naruto Needs a Hug, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:54:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29720295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsidiackLeowoethz/pseuds/ObsidiackLeowoethz
Summary: The Uchiha's eyes are renowned for copying jutsus and cast genjutsus. The Hyuga were known for their ability to see far and wide. The Rinnegan belongs to the Sage who shaped the world. The last is the most powerful. Or so they thought.An eye that Naruto possesses, the Eyes of Death, allowing to kill anything in existence. The problem is, users of these eyes always have an impulse to kill. It's just the dual personality, influenced by the Ryougi. There is no original personality. It vanished when his soul was split.
Relationships: Uchiha Clan & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto & Original Character(s), Uzumaki Naruto & Other(s)
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> No one wrote Naruto with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. I don't know why I wrote this but I'm up to the challenge of doing it.

**Chapter 1** \- **Prologue**

Heretics, they were called. Aozaki Touko finished her latest work. A new body, something that is both natural and unnatural. A human body is composed of DNA. DNA is the composition of a living being. Nerves, circuits, tissues, and the overall organs that make up the unique system of a body. Most people create clones extracted from the DNA of people. But Touko is different. Her craft is puppetry. To make it real, so real that it cannot be distinguished from a real live human.

And she accomplished it, approximately two hundred years before Konoha was born. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Touko turned herself into a puppet.

Puppets will always be distinguished from humans. Their movements are unnatural. Their compositions are mostly composed of screws or pipes to load weapons. But Touko shattered that rule. Stuck in time but still human. She can feel hunger, pain, or even pleasure. The necessities of a human body are all there. No puppeteer would be able to accomplish what she had done. Not even Sasori who turned himself into a puppet. He was still a puppet but Touko became a puppet that is human. She did not need any DNA to create a puppet to turn into human.

Even if she is killed, the next Touko will simply awaken. The Aozaki praised her for her skills that some relatives learned from her example. The Ryougi, Asagami, Emiya, Ainsuban, Tohsaka and the Aozaki. They may appear as different clans on the outside but all are one and the same. In blood, in genetic make-up and even origin.

Five hundred years before Touko was born, which means seven hundred years before Konoha was built, her clan, their origin, accused them as heretics. They experimented with all things considered taboo. Their goal - to reach the Origin. To see what's beyond. And they saw destruction from a certain clan of horned beings that plague worlds all for the purpose of life energy. 

Some of their ancestors procreated with one another. Sibling to sibling, cousin to cousin, all to awaken mutations that would help avoid their destruction. The others experimented with death in order to see death but never succeeded. Still, they continued. Others sought the immortality of the soul, to be human but something not human, a highly transcendent being capable of limitless energy. Another experimented with possibilities. Secrets will always be discovered at some point in time. And their clan, the Uzumaki casted them out, labelled them as heretics.

Forbidden to touch the soil of Uzushio once more, they traveled the lands. Wandering from one place to another, they settled in an isle isolated from the outside world. Rarely they go out to investigate the events unfold.

They were the former Uzumaki but still Uzumaki in blood. Their research became their beacon for greatness.

The first group that procreated with one another became the Asagami.

The second who experimented with death became the Ryougi.

The third that opened the door to possibilities are the Emiya.

The fourth who prioritized the soul became the Ainsuban.

The fifth that found value in jewel works are the Tohsaka.

The final sixth became the Aozaki, aiming to know every single thing that exist.

The group would share their research with one another. They only called themselves different names to differentiate which is the inventor of one specific study.

"Everything can be real when you put your effort into it". Another one of her spare bodies. She cannot count how many times she died. It may be in the thousands or more. She didn't care though.

____

"Touko". That voice again.

Ryougi Shiki, the ultimate result borne of centuries of research just to see death. And she was finally born six hundred years after the heretics were cast out. Void dark eyes and dark black short hair, she carried herself with dignity. Not sane but still sane. RYOUGI SHIKI, her other self but not her, an artificial soul that became real through the Ainsuban. Different personalities that allowed her to blend in. Ryougi Shiki and RYOUGI SHIKI cannot communicate with one another. They only feel and see each other's memories. Both are two people in one body that houses them.

She stared impassively at her relative who liked to be in the company of her puppets. Shiki carried a baby with her wrapped in white cloth.

"An Uzumaki with blonde hair. Where did you get that?". Touko refers to outsiders as that.

"His father sealed the Kyuubi within him". Touching the babe's face as if it was hers, it smiled upon her.

"He behaves like us. Not an Uzumaki though. The little one's mother shared the same blood as us". Touko took the babe from Shiki's hands. "Not exactly exotic in face".

"Doesn't matter. He had another personality in him now. A soul that would guide him to be the embodiment of death itself. Just like me".

"The child has to die though". It wept as if it heard the word 'die'. "Seems sentient to me".

"He cannot understand us", Shiki assured. "He will be the one to kill himself. To be one with death is to walk the roads of death itself. Should he wish to be a puppet, he can learn from you". 

The babe stopped its tears when held by Shiki. Walking all alone down the darkened hallways after leaving Touko's workshop, she gazed at the child with empty eyes. She walked with no worry. It would take 2 hours before the Anbu discovered Naruto was gone from the nursery. But SHIKI is faster. The switch happened. SHIKI teleported into the nursery, returning the babe to where it once belonged.

The clock inside the room timed at 3:30 AM. All the other children were asleep. Everything was so dark no one knew what time it would be. But SHIKI can read it. For she was different.

Naruto reached his chubby arms at her but to no success.

"We will meet again. When that time comes, I fully expect you to see death". Wisps of light colored her form, slowly fading in until the background became darkness again.

Tick tock, tick tock. The sound of the clock echoed the desolate area. Naruto's blue eyes are much bluer than before. His irises bigger than normal infants. He stared impassively into the surroundings as if he gained an awareness. A body cannot have two souls. It does not exist. But it has always been that way for the Ryougi. Now, Uzumaki Naruto, became a Ryougi.


	2. Chapter 2

The Ryougi are not last names nor titles bestowed to the heretic Uzumaki who studied death. It is simply a name given for the purpose of identifying who invented such school of study. In the abyss of death, the beginning occurs. And in the swirl of existence is what they seek. 

Such was their dedication that they never gave up their research to be transcendent, just like as the Ainsuban never turned off the source. For they want to dedicate all their lives to prevent the destruction of their race. And such was the experiment in infinite possibilities that the Emiya showed their loyalty to. Aspects of time, portals to other parallel worlds. 

Since the Ryougi needed to go to the outside world from time to time, investigating the events by recording them for the rest, they developed personalities. It was not in the matter of a split personality born of trauma. It was a personality that was another person in the same body. Artificial in nature, but alive. Inducing a personality in the brain was easy after all. 

The drawback was insanity.

The first creator killed himself, then another and another. Until the simple method was discovered. The vessel must be thoroughly empty. The human body by itself.  
And here goes another atrocity just to awaken the ability to be with death. A murder of the newborns by stealing their soul away, splitting in two, their normalcy shattered all for the purpose of death. And the souls will be put back again as if nothing happened. Those who grew up did not descend into madness. Their existence a dream for them. The urge to cut someone was strong. It meant success for the Ryougi that they continued. It became normal in their study for bloodied parts decorating the walls, a result of their urge to kill. 

Until someone who was a genius managed to create Shiki, the first person to see death. Rainbow eyes that were mystic in appearance that see lines. Lines that were traced were immediately severed. Only she can. 

And the Ainsuban, would send their failed creations to death. Creations that resemble human. A homunculus they were called. All had white hair and deep red eyes. Beautiful to look at only to be marred with blood in the name of research. 

An Emiya would marry one of these creations. Kiritsugu was his name. Inky black irises and hair, his appearance but all empty. His philosophy to sacrifice some people for the sake of his family. He had no remorse to those he slayed. His hands tainted with blood. He had a son and daughter. They are both normal and abnormal. The daughter was born from the creation of the Ainsuban, to which Kiritsugu married. The son, he sired from an outsider, making them believe he loved them. When the child was born, he abandoned the woman. 

No one knew what happened to the mother. It did not matter to Kiritsugu. Shirou was the result of this union. The son was aware of what his father did but did not care. His morals are the same. He only cares that he would not be destroyed. Just as the philosophy of the heretics. 

The morals of the stray Uzumaki deviate from the norm of society consisting of civilians and shinobi. All for the sake of research, they would not hesitate to commit incestuous acts, nor kill innocents just to satiate their curiosity. 

If the Uzumaki from Uzushio had killed them then…

It would not be this heretic. 

\---

A mirror reflects a person’s appearance. Their looks, the images of the surroundings. Some mirrors distort a person’s appearance by making them thinner or fatter. Naruto felt his existence likened to glass. He knew the hatred of the outside world. But he accepted them.

His existence was an unnatural but at the same time natural. He is not alone. Someone also lives inside his body, but it was natural. The other one was unnatural. A foreign body, the Kyuubi. Like the Ryougi, he also had the urge to cut. 

At the tender age of five, he would wander the streets at night, only armed with a knife. The person in front of him, a shopkeeper who struggled to breathe after his arm was slashed. Naruto only gazed coldly.

“Hey, mister. Why didn’t you give me the mask earlier? I was trying to buy them from you. I have the money, ya know”. 

It was an innocent question. The man, whose left arm was severed, only watched in horror when the child slashed his right arm. He screamed. 

“I really don’t understand. Why do you hate me?”. He strode forward. 

Trapped in an alley, all alone in an abandoned area of Konoha, Naruto slashed his limbs. 

Chng. Wham. The leg flew upwards. And another chng, a wham, another leg was taken. It takes someone five minutes to bleed from death. But Naruto was impatient. He stabbed the man in the chest. The worst torture. 

It was wrong to kill. Naruto wondered why. He didn’t know. Cutting people was easy to him as breathing. Dancing with the idea, he ran. The knife he had, he kept with him. He was done playing. 

His stamina was great. For he was an Uzumaki. His pleasurable run was so exhilarating. Slaying people as if it was natural. All this time he was not caught. Were the Anbu lenient? It did not matter. For Naruto, this was natural. Becoming Naru, he walked calmly. 

Entering the home he had known, the lights were all out. He prepared his bed then went to sleep. Someone was watching him. Not Konoha shinobi, nor Anbu. Naru was aware. She was someone who wore a white kimono, always watching him. Naru knew she is of similar existence to him. Standing, not moving…

As if she was death itself. 

He opened his eyes, seeing her. 

“I’ve always known you’re there”. 

Voice calm, he can always cut her like what he did to other people. 

“Cutting people was also my forte. All the time I couldn’t help but wonder why we are so alike. You’re killing people left and right. You should be glad I was disposing them to get rid of any links to you”. 

“Then that means by eating them”. 

Shiki let out a smile. Her void like eyes filled with mirth. 

“I don’t eat people. But I knew someone who did. Their instincts took over until they become nothing more but a beast”. 

Naru’s curiosity was piqued. “You also cut them to pieces”.

“Yes”. She walked around the room. 

A room that was made of plain wood. Old and recycled. Naru’s bed was made of simple white cloth. His clothes were ordinary. He looked ordinary. His personality was not. It belonged to someone who kills without reason. 

“Why do you kill?”

He frowned. “I kill because I want to. Uzumaki Naruto kills because it was his instinct. He can stop if he wants to. Though, would you take away his instinct? It’s the same as taking away someone’s instinct to eat”.

“You’re hungry, Naru. Tell me, do you hate the people of this village?”

“I don’t. Naruto does”.

“Then he kills for the purpose of vengeance. It was not instinct at all. It was a human emotion, a simple desire to end the life of another. He suffers mistreatment for a sin he didn’t create. A sin that was made by those who turned a beast into a weapon”. 

Naru narrowed his eyes. She knew the unnatural thing residing inside his body. The swirl that appears when he tried molding chakra without hand seals. For a long time, he wanted to get rid of it. 

“Judging by your look, you’re also aware of its existence”. Shiki continued. 

“They won’t tell me. You confirmed my suspicion”. 

“As expected of you. Getting rid of it would make you dance with death. People find it ugly. Their bodies rotting when their sou ascends to nowhere. Hell or heaven, it did not matter. Humans desired immortality to combat said thing. They did not succeed”. 

“I could care less as life is meaningless. As long this thing gets removed, then this does not matter. It can rot for all I care”. He answered. There was no reason to life. Not in the matter of loneliness or depression. He was simply bored. No pleasure. No happiness. 

“Are you sure?”. 

Shiki knew the outcome. The person known as Uzumaki Naru and Uzumaki Naruto was indeed the child of the prophecy. He would be the second one to be with death.  
“I still stand on the same decision. Would you do the honor of releasing said beast?”

“Very well”. 

Her eyes turned into rainbow. A knife was all that matters. The lines of the swirl are all there. It was strong. Difficult to release for a skilled seal master. For someone who dances with death, Shiki can simply kill it. 

Thrusting the knife on the line, it broke. The energy of the Kyuubi raged, felt by the whole village. It normally takes a few hours to unseal something. The more skilled a seal master is, it would take a few seconds. 

Shinobi ran to the location of Naruto’s abode. 

The sensation was not pleasant. His skin peeled from the corrosive chakra. The Kyuubi tried to fight but its life was extinguished. Temporarily…

Akin to a jinchuuriki killed. It was up to Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Naru to survive if their Uzumaki heritage was strong enough. For someone like the former jinchuuriki, what Shiki did was an extraction. Unusual but effective. 

She was no longer there when they arrived. They knew what happened. A silver haired man rushed to save the child’s life. He was now empty. Running to the hospital to restore his life force was the one thing they did. 

They did not find the culprit. 

Their life was in danger. Strung into life support, his heart was beating unusually fast. For someone so young who did not sin in this world, Hiruzen did not want the child to die. He was still young, full of life. The cascading events would follow the heavy questions to the Uchiha clan. The investigation led to nowhere. They were the red herring.  
The Uchiha were later proved innocent by the other clans. Such was the brain of Nara Shikaku. If the Uchiha wanted Naruto, they could simply cast a genjutsu on the bijuu, allowing them to take the reigns of the village through a coup. Fugaku was impressed that the Uchiha sought alliances to the Ino-Shika-Cho configuration. 

\---

Darkness. The swirls of a multitude of blue, pink, green and purple designed in psychedelic patterns. It was bright. It formed into circles. Concepts that could be found in the natural world do not exist here. All that remains were memories. 

The past, the present and the possible futures. Parallel. Something that could happen anytime. 

Emotions do not matter here. Even temperature. The dark is commonly associated with cold. Warmth was the light. In this void, there was nothing. 

Circles would go deeper. Humans would be mad seeing these things. Composed of mystic power, they are mysteries beyond chakra. The source. The Origin of All Things. The [ ].  
This was in the same realm as the afterlife but completely different. Just like the land and the sky. If the afterlife was the land, then the [ ] would be the sky. Beyond the humans cannot reach. Here the heretics saw a future were all of them were destroyed. They avoided their destruction by attaining the powers from this place. 

Inside the holes of existence itself dwelt someone who should be dead. His current existence was nothingness. He was alive but in the existence of death. The child’s naked body curled as if seeking for warmth. One could not tell if he was simply floating or lying down. It did not matter anyway. 

He should have died but he was still alive. He was aware of his current predicament. He was a soul with two souls. Merged to the point that it cannot be split. Like conjoined twins. Joined for eternity. The Yin and Yang. Light and Darkness. They represent both aspects. 

His body kept on dreaming. Slumbering with no one to know when.


	3. Chapter 3

For the past year, there were reports of missing people. No one spectacular. There was no hidden motive. From children, to women, to elderly. Most were civilians in nature. Some even retired shinobi who had no enemies. An operation was commenced to find out the culprit only to be met with no evidence of who was the culprit. The only corpse that was found were mutilated. A man, in his 30s. No one spectacular. Merely a regular business owner who owned a small dango shop in the streets. His arms were cut. The legs were scattered. And a final piece...

A stab on the heart. The man's expression twisted in frozen fear. Anbu were called on the scene to take evidence. Mysteriously, there weren't even traces of bodily fluids that would lead to the murderer.

Itachi, as member of the Anbu, were perturbed by these events. It only got worse when the jinchuuriki was extracted out his bijuu. Merely 5 years old, on life support. Tsunade was nowhere to be found. There were no means to reach her. The best medics of Konoha did everything they can to keep Naruto alive as much as possible. 

But he was the one who attacked the village 7 years ago, wasn't he?

He was just a child. Itachi looked in pity towards the child who was of the same of his brother. He did not know him personally. The only thing he's aware of was the child's penchant for some occasional mischief. Most of the time he was alone, with no one to talk to. Looking downcast, eyes gazing at the ground. That time their eyes met. Naruto averted his gaze.

It had been 2 years.

A body that slumbers that is alive but not alive. On the throes of death anytime. Would this be Naruto's last breath? The clock read at 3:30 PM. Itachi was still guarding the child. The Uchiha clan's standing in the village improved due to the support of Shikaku and the other clan heads. Most suspected the Uchiha. It made no sense. Why would they extract the Kyuubi? If they wish to take over Konoha, then they could have simply used their Sharingan to control the beast. Fugaku possesses such ability.

They linked it to the murders, all to frame the Uchiha. Public opinion shifted towards the clan's favor, allowing them to regain most of Konoha's trust, save for the elders of the Konoha Council.

How did it come to this?

A child with a bright future - whose life had been stolen by someone's greed. Accursed with a fate worse than death when turned into a jinchuuriki. Minato had no choice back then. Why would he sacrifice the child of another? Burdened by the duty between the village and his family, he chose the village. Sealing the beast onto his own son to harness said bijuu's power. Effort... was wasted.

Itachi was once burdened by responsibility. Which would he choose? The clan or the village? The only positive side of Naruto's coma was the shift of public opinion towards his family. A favorable one at that. But at what cost? The price of Naruto's future. Clinging to the hope that he might awaken, Itachi caressed his face. So peaceful. Suffering. For the past 2 years. He did not even go the Academy yet, only to be burdened by death.

When the clocks stroke at five in the afternoon,

Investigation would be done.

Finding the culprit...

That was mysteriously gone

"Shisui..."

His friend arrived. Still smiling even with the atmosphere so grim. "What did the kid do to deserve this kind of fate?". His eyes wandered through the slumbering body. 

"Still the same. No signs of progress. For the past two years, the medics did everything they can to make sure he still lives. He grows weaker by each passing day. A lot of them helped just to make his reserves return to normal. Most jinchuuriki who had their bijuu extracted immediately die. If not for his heritage, he would surely be buried by now".

"So young, so strong. Suffering in silence. Only to suffer on the vestiges of life and death. He and Sasuke would have been great friends. I fetched Sasuke by the way. He was whining that you don't have time with him".

Itachi chuckled. "True. I was assigned to guard him".

"We can switch, Itachi. You've been working hard lately. Mikoto-san is expecting you to arrive home. It's nearing five anyway. Let the other Anbu perform their duties. For someone as young, you always worry about such adult problems. You're still a child".

Was he to protest? He loves his brother a lot. He knew that Sasuke was seeking attention. Their father didn't make room for their youngest anyway.

_It wouldn't be bad anyway. Shisui can switch. He can be trusted_.

"I'll go home then". Itachi went out.

Shisui sighed, sitting on the chair near the bed. The sun was downcast, nearing dusk. The wind turned cold where it blew the green patterned curtains in the hospital room. Covered with only a white blanket, Naruto's appearance was paler than ever. It evoked familiar feelings of anxiety into Shisui's chest.

Everybody dies. Shisui had accepted that fact. Going home one day when his father no longer recognized him due to his ailing health, he accepted the harsh truth.

Humans naturally die, as all living things. When a living thing is left to their devices alone, they can die by natural diseases such as old age or an illness. For an average shinobi, the risk of death was sped up. All deaths were unnatural. Dying of poison, betrayal, a stab... all of them are the contributing factors why shinobi die early. During the Warring States Period, the average lifespan was 30. The reason... they die of war. 

Naruto died. Not in a literal way. He was still alive. Yet in the boundary of death's reach.

Does the child deserve this? He does not. He was hated for a sin he didn't create. Although, what can he do? He simply slumbered unaware of the events in the outside world.

\---

Rainbow eyes... that's what the Great Toad Sage said. A toad who was even larger than his average summon. One who lived for centuries. One who met the Sage of the Six Paths a millenium ago. The one who gave a prophecy about a boy who would possess such unnatural ability. The one who would see death. Jiraiya was also given the same prophecy.

"He does not kill for pleasure or hatred. He does it as it was a natural instinct similar to breathing. His morals differ from the norm. Meeting him would be a disaster. He should not exist but he exists". Jiraiya echoed the words of the Great Toad Sage.

Rainbow eyes or he calls it the Eyes of Death. Does that even exist?

No one knew.

He didn't meet one with those eyes, only the one who bears the eyes of the Sage... Rinnegan. Jiraiya trained him until he left him with his three friends to fend for themselves. Only receiving news later on that the children died. If he shouldn't have left them. No use for regrets. It already happened.

What are these so-called Rainbow Eyes? Do they allow one to see death? In what way?

Jiraiya ran through the autumn filled season of the Land of Fire. The leaves crunch beneath his tengu-geta. The maple leaves falling created a perfect scenery for a romantic setting. 10 kilometers was the distance it would take him to reach Konoha. He heard the news. His godson, was in a coma. He helped with the investigation. No one knew who the culprit was. There were no leads. The murders stopped. Even so, he was worried. He had never seen Minato's son. Still a child in this situation, he hurried.

Running past a red haired woman wearing white long sleeve shirt showing her enormous cleavage. Her black pants showed the shape of her legs. Red hair, like Kushina. Smoking with a pack of cigarettes, uncaring of her surroundings. Jiraiya ignored her, simply ran past her. The perks of living for a long time. She can simply blend into society without shinobi knowing she was Aozaki Touko. She was an unknown. People killed her, only to come back alive in a new body. A puppet body that is human. Nothing more, nothing less of her. No puppet master could accomplish what she had done. Not Sasori. Not the Otsutsuki. She smiled.

"The Sannin only received the news after two years". She was holding a green gem in her hand. Their tool for communication.

"You did great, Touko. Perhaps he will awaken this time around".

"Up to him in the first place, Maiya. How's Shirou?"

"Still insists on saving everyone when we can handle ourselves. He has a hero mentality that is beyond normal. For someone as the same age as Naruto, he's empty. He simply helps because it makes him happy. Good thing he does it to us only".

Maiya pondered why Shirou turned out this way? Kiritsugu didn't have such philosophy. He's willing to throw away a clan member should they prove to be traitors. Like what he did to Lio. Lio was insane anyway. A homunculus created by the Ainsuban for the purpose of procreating with Shiki. Instead, he devolved into a monster. His obsession with Shiki was not love. It was entirely cannibalistic. Shiki simply tore him apart.

Shirou and Naruto would be allies in the future. Touko cut off communication with Maiya. Now it's time to ponder their next moves to leave this world. Kiritsugu only managed to maipulate aspects of time. The ability to travel through parallel realities has not been mastered so far.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. Here I am. For those who read this bizarre fic, thank you so much.

Letters were sent. Anbu were deployed. For the past two years, there was no response. Questions poured forth. Was Jiraiya simply ignorant? Was he feigning loyalty? All he did all this time was saunter around trying to get into women’s skirt only receiving a slap in return. During those times, a lot has happened. Missing people, regardless of age. Then Naruto’s coma. Those missing people were likely murdered as only one trace of them was found. A shop owner found in an alley. Arms and limbs scattered around. It was a clean cut. Even the Uchiha’s reputation soared because of support from a certain clan head. 

“I didn’t expect that you’d come back after all this time. Now, you get it. This has happened due to my ignorance. I even sent teams of my Anbu to investigate the matter, receiving no results”. 

Hiruzen smoked. His white and red triangular hat shadowed his face. A man so old, 61 years of age. When a person ages, they all have life experiences. These experiences show in what they think, their gestures, the way they talk. Which is why he was called the Professor. 

“To be honest, sensei, I didn’t receive any messages at all. Killing people alone without reason. Then extracting the Kyuubi from Naruto. Surely, the motive was him all along. They planned this to distract the higher officials of the village. How often did this happen”. 

Jiraiya knew there was something wrong. It echoed. Instincts would let a person know if something terrible was about to happen. 

  
All shinobi had these instinct in some way or another. Those who spent their entire lives in war, even on S-rank missions. With age and experience on play, Jiraiya knew that this was a difficult task to deal with. No leads. No evidence. 

“How did you receive the letters then?”

The atmosphere heavier. A human heart beats around 60 – 100 beats per minute. Though, on average it varies from person to person. When someone grows anxious, it doubles. There arises a variety of symptoms. Upset stomach, headache, and clammy hands. In Jiraiya’s case, his hands grew colder. He clenched his fists, as if holding onto something. 

  
“I received the messages via a dove”, was all his answer. 

“…….”

It all became clear…

Clearer as the day that someone intercepted the letters. Doves were not used for sending letters. Shinobi used hawks. Trained to send letters. But this…

As if nature itself read the event. It started to rain. 

Tut, tut, tut, tut. 

  
All towards the roof of the Hokage tower. Not a light drizzle. It rained where the wind blew the trees outside. Leaves flew away, just the dried ones, going towards the ground. 

Birds took shelter to prevent themselves from getting wet. 

“You don’t have to feel guilty about these things. I should be the one that had been more careful. In fact, they’re one step ahead of us”. 

He blew the smoke from his pipe. It reeked of ash. Setting it down the below, he stood up, facing the window, his own reflection gazing at him. The rain itself read his predicament. The pavements, the soil, everything outside were all wet. When the sun shines, the water would be evaporated. A cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. In this case, the evidence evaporated. There was no condensation that happened. 

Jiraiya turned his back on Hiruzen before the latter uttering one final say. 

“I originally assigned Itachi to guard the child. However, Shisui appealed that they will take turns taking shifts. Itachi had been missing dinner and Sasuke had been whining about it. It would be a good idea for you to stay so Shisui would have a little of free time”. 

“That’s what I intended to do in the first place. Spend some time with my godson”. 

Jiraiya smiled. Swinging the door open, he left his former teacher to their own devices, still pondering the recent events that took place in the village. 

\---

Loitering around in an orange, swirly mask. No one could detect him. He could simply swirl out of existence by transferring to another point then to another location whenever he pleases. Such was the benefit of his Sharingan. 

Space time ninjutsu is versatile. Manipulating an aspect of space allows a user to do whatever they please. Summoning something such as in the case of summons by having contracts with them. Some opted to place seals in the battlefield to optimize their space time ninjutsu to the fullest. But for him, he did not need these elaborate plans, as his right eye could do anything such as bypassing attacks without problem. Though, he can only maintain being intangible at a maximum of five minutes. 

  
The Uchiha’s reputation had greatly improved. He had heard of the rumors. There were missing people. And the extraction of the Kyuubi put a damper on his plans. Akatsuki needed bijuu to realize their goal of world domination. Without the last one, their plans would be prone to delay. 

  
The rain continued. Thunder clapped. His clothes, his hair, all of his body were wet all over. It reminded him of a certain day where he lost someone he held dear. It was blurry but it was clear as day. A woman held in his arms – 

He crossed it out of his head. No use thinking of memories. 

Memories are just information stored in the brain consisting of images, sounds, and words. It persists forever. It can be altered, changed or erased. In his case, neither of the three of happened. The memory appeared as if it was yesterday. 

Pushing it back in the back of his mind made it more intrusive. Appearing as if to mock his helplessness, his weakness, his hatred. All aspects of negativity were there. He was Uchiha Madara. Such was the name that brought fear towards the nations. One that fought Senju Hashirama in the Valley of the End. One that released the Kyuubi seven years ago.  
  
All his hard work, gone from an instant. He was frustrated. Taking one final look from the tower, the space around him began to swirl. It sucked him as if he was an object in a vacuum. The red eye remained before it completely vanished, until space returned to normal with his disappearance. 

This was the fate of the Uchiha and the Senju. Bound to a cycle of clashing until one submits to the other. But who would? Time will tell when the next generation of reincarnates realize it themselves. One, though, was tampered. He became someone who had a tendency to cut. Someone whose existence was unnatural.

\---

Even with the standing of the Uchiha in the village was greatly improved, another one would bring a problem. And that very same night, as he believed they were a threat, he began to slaughter some of them.

A slash to the left, a slash to the right. He simply walked, kunai in hand. He pierced them all. Two bodies fell beneath him. The clan would be a ruin to his plans. Time to massacre them all. If not only for some intruder.

Uchiha Itachi

Wasting no time, he charged. A tanto in hand, the other blocked it with a kunai. What impressive strength he possessed. Itachi punched. It went through. That’s when the realization dawned that his opponent utilized space time ninjutsu. His reflexes were quick enough that it allowed him to avoid a kick from his enemy, directly aiming towards his gut.

Itachi jumped backwards.

The dirt from the pouring rain made the ground slippery. The opponent could use it to his advantage. Since he uses space time ninjutsu, he could make certain parts of his body intangible. There has to be weakness. There has to be. But his opponent swirled again outside of existence leaving him all alone.

No time to waste. Two cross fingers, a hand sign of the Shadow Clone, two popped. He had to warn everyone.

___

If he can’t have the Kyuubi, he could manipulate the jinchuuriki. The hospital was deathly quiet. During nighttime, few people would make their rounds. Medical ninjas need to rest after all. Exhaustion was a common situation where chakra would be used to heal the injured. The exhaustion doubled to make Naruto alive at all costs.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Another sound coming from the hallways. He knew what was coming ahead. But never did he expect that it was the Sannin who showed himself. The imposing height at 191.2 cm clad in red and green made him look intimidating especially with a serious expression on his face.

“You’re not an Uchiha assigned to be Naruto’s guard. What’s your aim?”

He didn’t answer.

“I see. There were missing people going around the place here. You were the one behind all of these murders just to extract the Kyuubi. You were also behind the attack seven years ago”.

Wasting no time, Jiraiya began to weave his hand seals.

Snake → Boar → Rat → Dragon → Boar → Dragon → Tiger… Putting palms on the ground.

He summoned it, the oesophagus from a giant toad of Mount Myoboku. The oesophagus of a toad is usually sticky, making the opponents that were trapped in this jutsu lose their footing easily.

But he’s different.

He can simply escape using his space time ninjutsu.

“You were right that I was the one who released the bijuu a few years ago. But extracting the Kyuubi, it wasn’t me. I must admit, the one behind it delayed my plans”.

He had the Sharingan. The pinwheel swirled into existence where he, the bearer also disappeared.

 _Space time ninjutsu. That damn Sharingan_.

The intruder vanished. Dispelling the jutsu, he began to run into Naruto’s room. Room 403. It wasn’t that far but he had to go. The objective was Naruto. He had to hurry.

\---

Existence itself is fickle. His consciousness aware that he was in the state of life and death. He was aware. Meanwhile, the child was carried by the rogue Uchiha. He could implant White Zetsu matter to strengthen the child further. He would simply use genjutsu to erase the child's memories.

On his shoulder was the comatose Naruto. After two years, the slumbering body opened its eyes, revealing a vivid mixture of colors with pronounced irises.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update every two weeks. I want to kickstart my motivation into writing.


End file.
